I want to share with you about an upcoming opportunity I have been given and to request that you would pray for me, daily, as I embark on a new adventure. In January 2015 I will be traveling with International Medical Corps to
I
first learned about Ebola in Biology class in high school. My teacher, Mrs.
Hathaway, read excerpts from the Hot Zone, which is so graphic a book
that Stephen King described it as: "One of the most horrifying things I
have ever read." After mere pages of detailed imagery, I felt ill enough
to leave the classroom and shortly thereafter fainted in the high school
hallway. Ironically, two summers later, God called this weak-stomached woman to
be a nurse. Here we are, 13 years later, and He is calling me to go to West Africa and help fight the disease that has both intrigued
and terrified me since I was 15.
I
became aware of the current epidemic in late July, when Dr. Brantley and Nancy
Writebol (individuals working with Samaritan's Purse and SIM, International,
respectively) contracted Ebola. As the weeks passed I began closely following
the news in west Africa--and the spread of the disease. In mid September I
visited Fred Foy and Cecily Strang, a couple I met while at King College Kenya
After
that weekend in September, I began researching organizations that were
currently sending nurses to west Africa. I first researched Christian organizations
like Samaritan's Purse and SIM, International. After a few weeks I expanded my
search to include Doctors Without Borders (more commonly known by the acronym
"MSF," Medicins sans frontieres) and International Medical Corps. I asked that God would allow my hospital to
grant me a leave of absence as a confirmation that He was behind my pull toward
west Africa. I saw this request as akin to Gideon's fleece. (Judges
6:36-40) My manager and all of my co-workers have been overwhelmingly
supportive (and honestly, my fellow night-shifters may be quite tired of
hearing me discussing the latest news from west Africa, but they have been
gracious thus far!) My leave of absence was granted, and I heard back from IMC
within 24 hours of submitting my application.
On
January 8th I will deploy to Sierra Leone
I am honestly most concerned about the three week quarantine after the assignment. Please pray for me during these three weeks
of essentially solitary confinement after my assignment ends. Pray that I
decompress well---and that my mind would not replay the images I witnessed
while in the ETC each night before I sleep. Ebola is a fairly treatable
disease if we catch it early. It requires supportive care: preventing
dehydration and giving the immune system time to fight off the disease itself.
We know the basics of the disease's transmission; we know how to adequately
protect healthcare staff, although attentiveness to detail, when fatigued
especially, will be crucial. Please pray that I will be hyper vigilant while in
the 'red zone' (the part of the ETC where Ebola patients are), and that I
will be extremely cautious each time I remove the personal protective
equipment.
Please
pray for my family; that they would continue to rest in the sovereignty of God.
Over
the last two months, the song
bridge to Hillsong United's Oceans (where feet may fail) has been playing over
and over in my mind: "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders/Let
me walk upon the waters/Wherever you would call me/Take me deeper than my feet
could ever wander/And my faith will be made stronger/In the presence of my
Saviour."
As
I have considered going to west Africa--I couldn't come up with any substantial
reasons not to go. They need nurses; I am a nurse. They need people that are
accustomed to travel and have been exposed to several different cultures, and
thanks to my father's job, I have traveled often. I have not had hands-on
disaster experience, but as this is a long-term epidemic, the initial disaster
response has long-since been launched, and now the treatment centers need
willing staff to continue to operate. I
feel that God is calling me to go. In Luke 9:23, Jesus challenges his followers
by saying, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me."
IMC
covers my financial costs for travel, room, and board. What I need from you is
to pray. PRAY. Pray. Pray that God's will be done in my life. Pray for the
people I interact with. Pray that I would be salt and light. Pray for my
family. Pray without ceasing for the people who are losing loved ones every
day. Pray that salvation would come to them—and pray that this epidemic would
come to an end. I am not afraid for my health; I echo the words of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. The God I serve, the God they served, is
able to protect me and bring me home safely if He so wills. "But even if
He does not," He remains good, He is Sovereign over all, and He remains
faithful to His promises. He is for His glory---pray that His glory would
continue to spread throughout the earth.
Thank
you, dear
ones, for
reading my letter and thank you, especially, for praying for me while I prepare to
go to Sierra Leone, while I am there, and when I return. Pray for the people of Liberia , Sierra Leone , Guinea , and Mali
